Author: Carolina Odman
Affiliation: Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy, University of the Western Cape
Country: South Africa
Title: The Cascade Outreach Model: Relatable and representative role models.
Globally, prominent scientists are promoted as role models. They often visit schools with the aim to inspire the younger generation to study science. There is little evidence however, that this has a real impact on young people’s career choices and it is known that once-off interventions don’t automatically have a lasting impact. Here we describe a model of outreach we have developed, that we call cascade outreach. It is based around the premise that role models need to be relatable to students they engage, much more than they need to be considered accomplished by their peers in the field. This approach increases the pool and the diversity of role models, trains and gives outreach experience to young scientists as they become role models to their younger peers, and lightens the load placed on well-established minority scientists who are disproportionately asked to represent astronomy as efforts are made to diversify the field. We describe the application of the cascade model in the South African context, where challenges of representation are broad and complex.